United States
Lovely Warren
208,046 (2017)
Henry Fitts
Improve internal government operations
Save costs and improve efficiency within the public sector
Improve service delivery
Improve resident outcomes
Simplify administrative procedures for firms and residents
Generate new sources of revenue
Dedicated funding
Focus on measurement
Dedicated innovation team
Leadership from Mayor
Engagement with partners
Support from outside city administration
Rochester has launched several innovative initiatives including:
Note: The City Innovation Snapshot (PDF version) was produced in 2018 and some aggregate findings have been updated with the latest survey results below.
Along with 50% of cities surveyed, Rochester does not have an explicit innovation strategy. Similar to 24% of cities surveyed, Rochester approaches innovation capacity in specific policy areas/domains.
Situated in the Mayor’s office, Rochester’s dedicated team for innovation led by the Director of Innovation consists of 6 staff. In addition, the Chief Performance Officer leads process improvement and data initiatives.
Taking risks or testing new ideas
Data-driven analytics/public data management
Engaging residents in new ways
Developing new solutions based on digital technologies
Organizational change within the municipality
Human-centered design
Rethinking your city’s approach to financing partnerships
Like 81% of cities surveyed, Rochester has dedicated funding to support innovation capacity.
Rochester has developed partnerships to promote its innovation capacity with other public agencies, private firms, not-for-profit organizations, and city residents/resident associations.
To improve data use, the city has also developed data partnerships with the private sector, academia, think tanks, and philanthropy to collect and analyze data.